DMD grad here ..happy to help with admissions, career advice, or AMA!

[Wahoowah]

Hi all,

In the spirit of solidarity I want to connect with pre-dents and and offer perspective on applying, dental school, and managing your career. Feel free to ask me anything!

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[0Mik3cho]

Thanks for taking the time. What do you plan to do with your MBA?

 

[Wahoowah]

Thanks for taking the time. What do you plan to do with your MBA?

No problem! Great question. I would say short term: have a great practice/group of practices. Long term: executive role and/or investor in health care companies.

 

[frentist]

in your opinion what are some ways that dentists can regain control of insurance reimbursement ( government and private dental insurance)?

 

[em1012]

Hi! Can I ask you what you think about my stats? I'm not applying to Harvard, but you seem like you'd give a good prespective. Thank you for taking the time.
My stats are...
GPA: 3.88 (Dean's List every semester)
Science GPA: 3.79
Major: Microbiology (I attend a four-year university)
DAT scores: 19AA/19TS/18PAT/19GC/19OC/20BIO/16QR/23RC
LOR: One from a dentist I've shadowed, one from my major advisor, two from science professors.
Jobs Worked since in School: Taekwondo Instructor, Organic Chemistry Supplemental Instructor, Chem/Calc/English Tutor.
Shadowing: 110+ Hours
Volunteer Opportunities: 60+ hours with Remote Area Medical clinics and Miles for Smiles as a volunteer dental assistant, and about 200+ more because I'm the president of my school's departmental volunteer club. Also about 30 hours for volunteering with a road race event planning company.
I've had lots of leadership experince (I've completed a study abroad course called Leadership and Professionals in Global Health last year in a third-world country). I hold a position in my school's ASDA club and have been on a past SGA Homecoming committee.

TN resident. Applying to - UTHSC, Louisville, University of Kentucky, Colorado, Buffalo, Tufts, MUSC (I have multiple relatives who have gone to MUSC for pharmacy school).

What do you think? Any help is great!!!

 

[Wahoowah]

in your opinion what are some ways that dentists can regain control of insurance reimbursement ( government and private dental insurance)?

Really great question. I am by no means an expert on this topic but I think it's going to be challenging to do so in a climate where we are trying to reduce health care costs overall. In school I did some research showing that dentists could reduce health expenses if they were more involved with primary care (ie performing basic health screenings, glucose testing, etc). However you could argue that adding these services may be less profitable compared to what dentists traditionally do. It will be interesting to see what the payer situation will be like in 10-30 years as we see more integration between medicine and dentistry.

On the individual practice level there's a few ways to reduce insurance dependence. You could be an out of network or fee-for-service doctor. Patients can still use insurance benefits in your practice, but they would still have to pay your full fee. You will find that this is a minority of practices because it is hard to execute. You must deliver an exceptional experience and/or provide a very niche type service (think focusing on implants or cosmetic/rehab-type cases). Another avenue is through medical billing. Many services we provide such as x-rays, post op appointments, and grafting don't get reimbursed but you could get paid through medical. There are also firms you can hire to negotiate PPO fees and that's sometimes successful. I'm sure there are some other ideas out there. Insurance problem is real though and one of the several hurdles you will deal with in your career. Hope that helps!

 

[Wahoowah]

Hi! Can I ask you what you think about my stats? I'm not applying to Harvard, but you seem like you'd give a good prespective. Thank you for taking the time.
My stats are...
GPA: 3.88 (Dean's List every semester)
Science GPA: 3.79
Major: Microbiology (I attend a four-year university)
DAT scores: 19AA/19TS/18PAT/19GC/19OC/20BIO/16QR/23RC
LOR: One from a dentist I've shadowed, one from my major advisor, two from science professors.
Jobs Worked since in School: Taekwondo Instructor, Organic Chemistry Supplemental Instructor, Chem/Calc/English Tutor.
Shadowing: 110+ Hours
Volunteer Opportunities: 60+ hours with Remote Area Medical clinics and Miles for Smiles as a volunteer dental assistant, and about 200+ more because I'm the president of my school's departmental volunteer club. Also about 30 hours for volunteering with a road race event planning company.
I've had lots of leadership experince (I've completed a study abroad course called Leadership and Professionals in Global Health last year in a third-world country). I hold a position in my school's ASDA club and have been on a past SGA Homecoming committee.

TN resident. Applying to - UTHSC, Louisville, University of Kentucky, Colorado, Buffalo, Tufts, MUSC (I have multiple relatives who have gone to MUSC for pharmacy school).

What do you think? Any help is great!!!

Hi! I think your GPA is great. I started D school in 2012 so I don't know how scores have changed, but seems like DAT is somewhat below average. Have you thought about re-taking? I would maybe check with admissions directors at those schools about the stats and see if that's within range for people they interview. Believe it or not Harvard doesn't always accept people with the best stats, if you think you might wanna go there just apply!

To be brutally honest nothing really jumps out at me with your extracurriculars. When evaluating candidates at Harvard I really wanted to see people who were committed to one or two activities and could articulate their passion for them. I understand it's tough to do that because schools wanna see so many random things like shadowing, research, etc. My advice would be to spend your essays focusing on one area of your life that you're passionate about rather than summarizing your resume. Hope this helps!

 

[Nachatta]

What was your favorite thing about HSDM, and any advice to this year's incoming HSDM class?

 

[Predent20192023]

what were your stats when applying to dental schools? How did you handle Boston’s COL? What would you recommend undergrads do to stand out on their application if their dream school is HSDM?

 

[em1012]

Hi, Thank you so much for replying - it means a lot! I personally have not thought about retaking, advisors and dentists said not to unless I was 100% sure I could do better on the retake. I spent a lot of time talking about how my Taekwondo leadership and tutoring impacted my choice for dental school (in the aspect of leadership) for my personal statement, so what you said helps.
Do you think I should go ahead and apply this round? I at least have a chance?

 

[Wahoowah]

What was your favorite thing about HSDM, and any advice to this year's incoming HSDM class?

Congrats! HSDM was really one of the best times in my life. Best part hands down was the group of friends I made there and am still close with today. Contrary to belief it was very chill and they did a great job picking well rounded classmates instead of gunners.

As far as advice, just make the most of your time there. Get to know the dental faculty. Shadow early and figure out the specialty you may want to apply to. Also be sure to enjoy one of the last few years without any responsibilities Have fun, get to know your classmates. Go on lots of trips, enjoy Boston..

Feel free to PM me. Happy to connect further!

 

[Wahoowah]

what were your stats when applying to dental schools? How did you handle Boston’s COL? What would you recommend undergrads do to stand out on their application if their dream school is HSDM?

Hard to remember exactly lol, but I came from a top 25 undergrad, GPA 3.89, DAT AA was 27. I actually got waitlisted first and was admitted later. That being said you don't always have to have the highest stats to get in. At least when I was there, there was a strong emphasis on picking well rounded students. Think about it: as a faculty or administrator do you really want your school to be represented by bookworms with poor social skills? I made it a point in my interview to show that I wasn't just numbers, that I enjoyed going out and having hobbies. As far as standing out, being very personable and having good social skills is very important, as mentioned. I said it earlier too but I think it's way better to commit to just one activity that you can spend a lot of time on that you're passionate about, and just be really outstanding in that one thing, rather than have laundry list of activities.

Ah yes Boston is expensive af. Try to get some savings before you start. Get some roommates or live in the dorms first year. Learn how to cook.. To be honest though I wasn't very frugal myself. However in my opinion the money I spent hanging with friends and partying was priceless.

Curious to know why HSDM is your dream school. Do you feel that it will help you reach your goals differently than any other program?

 

[Wahoowah]

Hi, Thank you so much for replying - it means a lot! I personally have not thought about retaking, advisors and dentists said not to unless I was 100% sure I could do better on the retake. I spent a lot of time talking about how my Taekwondo leadership and tutoring impacted my choice for dental school (in the aspect of leadership) for my personal statement, so what you said helps.
Do you think I should go ahead and apply this round? I at least have a chance?

I think admissions directors would help you better with this question, but I personally feel you could do better if you put more time preparing for the DAT and achieving a better score. If you don't just be sure to nail your interview. Good luck!

 

[em1012]

I think admissions directors would help you better with this question, but I personally feel you could do better if you put more time preparing for the DAT and achieving a better score. If you don't just be sure to nail your interview. Good luck!

Thank you for your input - best of luck with your career

 

[Gustavo dos Santos]

Hi all,

In the spirit of solidarity I want to connect with pre-dents and and offer perspective on applying, dental school, and managing your career. Feel free to ask me anything!

What was the application process like for the MBA program? Did you do it during your first year there or was it something you had to do before hand? How was studying for the GMAT while in school and what did your semesters look like balancing both programs? Do they give admissions preference to students already on a program at Harvard?

did you end up specializing? Is specialty application the same, just delayed a year?

 

[frentist]

if I plan on not specializing and owning my own private practice, is an MBA necessary or would taking business, HR and accounting seminars and/or classes at community college levels be good enough? I want to be able to grasp proficiently the non clinical side of dentistry

I have real world experience with corporate and small business marketing

 

[Wahoowah]

What was the application process like for the MBA program? Did you do it during your first year there or was it something you had to do before hand? How was studying for the GMAT while in school and what did your semesters look like balancing both programs? Do they give admissions preference to students already on a program at Harvard?

did you end up specializing? Is specialty application the same, just delayed a year?

Same process as traditional candidates. Need letters of rec, decent GMAT at least 700. I finished the DMD program and then did the full MBA program. Later classes have done 2 years HMS, 2 years MBA, then 2 at HSDM. Unfortunately they don't double count the credits to let you finish in 5 years like the med school. As far as preferences I don't know, probably helps somewhat already being at HSDM because I didn't have any traditional work experience like most.

Didn't specialize but but it's the same process, just applying the summer before you graduate.

 

[Wahoowah]

if I plan on not specializing and owning my own private practice, is an MBA necessary or would taking business, HR and accounting seminars and/or classes at community college levels be good enough? I want to be able to grasp proficiently the non clinical side of dentistry

I have real world experience with corporate and small business marketing

Absolutely do not need an MBA to run a practice. My best advice would instead be to jump into ownership as soon as possible. That is really the best way to learn. CC/online classes are fine if you need more structured learning but there are so many great books out there on entrepreneurship and accounting that will give you what you need. Dental podcasts/facebook groups can be helpful as well.

 

[frentist]

Absolutely do not need an MBA to run a practice. My best advice would instead be to jump into ownership as soon as possible. That is really the best way to learn. CC/online classes are fine if you need more structured learning but there are so many great books out there on entrepreneurship and accounting that will give you what you need. Dental podcasts/facebook groups can be helpful as well.

thank you for your response and time!

 

[frentist]

giving the purchasing power that huge corp dentistry has, what are some ways that small private practices can combat this when it comes to buying supplies and equipment?

also is it worth it to come up with your own internal insurance plan to offer to your patients so that there is less dependence outside insurance plans (government/private)?

 

[Gustavo dos Santos]

Hi all,

In the spirit of solidarity I want to connect with pre-dents and and offer perspective on applying, dental school, and managing your career. Feel free to ask me anything!

Can you comment on Harvard’s class set up? Specifically the pros/cons (In your opinion) of the flipped classroom style teaching and the mix with med school students the first year or so?

 

[Wahoowah]

giving the purchasing power that huge corp dentistry has, what are some ways that small private practices can combat this when it comes to buying supplies and equipment?

also is it worth it to come up with your own internal insurance plan to offer to your patients so that there is less dependence outside insurance plans (government/private)?

Great questions. I think just being vigilant about costs can help a lot. Don’t rely on one supplier, get your team to shop around.. I think many docs/teams just get complacent and don’t spend the time finding alternatives that are cheaper with same quality. There are also buying groups that you can join in order to get discounts (for a fee of course)

Membership plans are great, especially if you have FFS offices. I am not sure how successful people have been getting patients to drop their PPOs in favor of them though.

 

[0Mik3cho]

giving the purchasing power that huge corp dentistry has, what are some ways that small private practices can combat this when it comes to buying supplies and equipment?

also is it worth it to come up with your own internal insurance plan to offer to your patients so that there is less dependence outside insurance plans (government/private)?

Dental assistant here. Adding on to what Wahoowah said, I often check Amazon for prices on consumable items such as tray sheets, bibs, and suction tips. When I last checked, HVE suction tips from Amazon were half the price of our regular supplier.

 

[Wahoowah]

Can you comment on Harvard’s class set up? Specifically the pros/cons (In your opinion) of the flipped classroom style teaching and the mix with med school students the first year or so?

I know the curriculum has changed slightly so this may not be accurate for the current program, but we had a combination of traditional lecture and tutorials (small group discussions) that were case based. Overall I think the format was good. The discussions ensured that you kept pace with the material. I think teaching something is one of the best ways to learn and the discussions give ample opportunity to do that. That being said some subjects lend themselves better to the format than others. Also I guess it can be frustrating if you’re a crammer because if you don’t study consistently then it’s harder to participate.

As far as being in med school it depends. Those not wanting to do OS may not prefer it. Considering the alternative is practicing cutting plastic teeth in preclinic (which bear no resemblance to real teeth) I much preferred med school (minus the part about doing live prostate and gyn exams!)

You get the best of both worlds. Class of 35 is more intimate and you get to know most of your dental class really well over 4 years. You also get 160 med students to interact with.

 

[frentist]

Great questions. I think just being vigilant about costs can help a lot. Don’t rely on one supplier, get your team to shop around.. I think many docs/teams just get complacent and don’t spend the time finding alternatives that are cheaper with same quality. There are also buying groups that you can join in order to get discounts (for a fee of course)

Membership plans are great, especially if you have FFS offices. I am not sure how successful people have been getting patients to drop their PPOs in favor of them though.

thank you for your response!

 

[Wahoowah]

thank you for your response!

No problem.

 

[Tea&Teeth]

I've heard that their dental department is quite small and that people may have a hard time getting patients, would you say that is true? What made you decide on Harvard over other dental schools?

 

[P7898]

How much debt did you accumulate from all of your schooling? How does it compare to income in terms of someone attending a cheap state school?

 

[GoDental101]

How much debt did you accumulate from all of your schooling? How does it compare to income in terms of someone attending a cheap state school?

^ asking the real questions

 

[Wahoowah]

How much debt did you accumulate from all of your schooling? How does it compare to income in terms of someone attending a cheap state school?

400+ all in. If you are in clinical practice your school won’t really make a difference in your income. However the MBA gives access to some opportunities that might be more lucrative. Money aside, it personally made sense for me - not advocating that others should do it as well.

Also you can still specialize going to a state school, although coming from Harvard it can be less stressful since it’s pass/fail, no rank

 

[Wahoowah]

I've heard that their dental department is quite small and that people may have a hard time getting patients, would you say that is true? What made you decide on Harvard over other dental schools?

Yes there is some truth to that. However if you are clever enough you can get all the patients you need and even get to try some more advanced tx like placing implants. Overall I think patient flow would really only be a concern for your if you wanted to be a gp straight out of school.

 

[dentalschl44]

Can you touch on the benefits of getting your MBA?


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[P7898]

400+ all in. If you are in clinical practice your school won’t really make a difference in your income. However the MBA gives access to some opportunities that might be more lucrative. Money aside, it personally made sense for me - not advocating that others should do it as well.

Also you can still specialize going to a state school, although coming from Harvard it can be less stressful since it’s pass/fail, no rank

Listen up kiddos. State school state school state school.

Thanks for your perspectives and honesty Wahoowah - what a name.

 

[Wahoowah]

Can you touch on the benefits of getting your MBA?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

It helped me look at the world differently, gained a better understanding what makes people and companies tick. Gives some credibility with investors and a network of alumni all over the world.

Knowledge of finance, leadership, etc were also great but as I mentioned you can get a lot of that info from books

 

[P7898]

It helped me look at the world differently, gained a better understanding what makes people and companies tick. Gives some credibility with investors and a network of alumni all over the world.

Knowledge of finance, leadership, etc were also great but as I mentioned you can get a lot of that info from books

What are you currently doing for work now?

 

[Wahoowah]

What are you currently doing for work now?

Practicing and doing some work in private equity (investment funds that buy private companies)

 

[Cookiesandhotdog]

I know most students at Harvard specialize. What was the reason you didn't specialize? Also, if you were to specialize, which speciality would you choose?

 

[P7898]

Practicing and doing some work in private equity (investment funds that buy private companies)

So you are practicing as a dentist and working in private equity for a firm? So getting paid as a dentist and private equity employee?

 

[Wahoowah]

I know most students at Harvard specialize. What was the reason you didn't specialize? Also, if you were to specialize, which speciality would you choose?

Most people who specialize are really into that one area and see themselves practicing most of their career. I didn't fit either category. If I were to pick though, would probably be ortho.

All the specialties are great in their own way. I wouldn't pay too much attention to averages (in comp). Just spend time figuring out what interests you the most and don't get into too much debt getting there.

 

[Wahoowah]

So you are practicing as a dentist and working in private equity for a firm? So getting paid as a dentist and private equity employee?

Yep.

 

[Predent20192023]

sorry for the slow response. Any school that’s pass/fail or has great rates of specializing in the class is a “dream school”! Do you believe the Harvard name/ reputation has helped you in your career. Although getting into any dental school is great but I’m wondering if name helps?

 

[Wahoowah]

sorry for the slow response. Any school that’s pass/fail or has great rates of specializing in the class is a “dream school”! Do you believe the Harvard name/ reputation has helped you in your career. Although getting into any dental school is great but I’m wondering if name helps?

I think a prestigious school matters more in law, business, somewhat in medicine, barely in dentistry. I loved Harvard and wouldn’t have gone anywhere else, but if I wanted to specialize I believe I could have done it from any school.

 

[PreDentGator2021]

What is the typical career path of a DMD/MBA student? How does the income compare to that of a private practice GP/Specialist? Not necessarily in your case, just as a generality.

 

[P7898]

More income as an investment banker. Next.

 

[ToothJockey]

Since you're in dentistry and private equity, how do you see the 2 mixing?

From my understanding a small private equity firm probably is involved in leveraged buyouts. Have you bought any dental practices this way? Do you see this as a model for entrepreneurship in dentistry?

 

[acvdental937]

Is it difficult to get in without having done research? I've heard that HSDM put heavy emphasis on research experience

 

[Wahoowah]

What is the typical career path of a DMD/MBA student? How does the income compare to that of a private practice GP/Specialist? Not necessarily in your case, just as a generality.

I can’t really say because the “path” can take you several different directions based on where your interests lie. If you want the most earning potential with the least level of uncertainty you’re probably better off being a specialist or perhaps a super gp.

 

[Wahoowah]

Is it difficult to get in without having done research? I've heard that HSDM put heavy emphasis on research experience

I am not sure, but I always assumed research was important for most schools. FWIW I don’t remember discussing my research in depth during that interview.

 

[Wahoowah]

Since you're in dentistry and private equity, how do you see the 2 mixing?

From my understanding a small private equity firm probably is involved in leveraged buyouts. Have you bought any dental practices this way? Do you see this as a model for entrepreneurship in dentistry?

I do look at dental deals but we are also interested in other industries outside health care.

Most people who buy practices take out a loan so technically that is also an LBO lol. There are many approaches to entrepreneurship, happy to chat offline if interested.

 

[acvdental937]

Thanks so much for answering! Out of curiosity, how difficult is it to get into the MBA program as a dental student? How many HSDM students are accepted into the MBA program each year? Does it require any corporate experience?